Wine Bottle
by DJ-JELLYBEAN
Summary: The Takahashi Brothers' private lives filled with comedy, drama and twisted illusions. Scenes from last chapter: Keisuke demonstrates his cooking skills to Ryousuke and the reality of racing with The Candies.
1. CHAP 1: GOOD MORNING

DISCLAIMER: All original characters of Initial D belong to Shigeno Shuichi. Much Respect. Enjoy!  
  
CHAP 1: GOOD MORNING  
  
CHAP 1 RATING: PG  
  
It was Keisuke Takahashi's turn to collect the household's clothing laundry today. He had a scowl on his face as he un-clipped more clothes off the clothing line in their spacious backyard. He started mumbling under his breath as Ryousuke came outside from the double patio doors with a breakfast tray.   
  
"Brother! Why the hell did you wake me up to do this shit?!" whined Keisuke. Ryousuke had his leg crossed over the other as he looked up from his newspaper, with fresh brewed coffee in the other hand, and glared at Keisuke.  
  
"It's already 10:30, Keisuke. I thought I told you the complications we will be facing from now on without maids running around the house. Father and mother had made it clear last night...we both need to strive for independence awhile until they return from their business trip to London. Upon their arrival, including your bedroom, I want this house to be speckless, nonetheless." said Ryousuke, with a hint of distaste on the last sentence. He took a sip from his cup as he stood from the chair and gracefully began to arrange the breakfast he had made for Keisuke and him. He had spent at least two hours cleaning up the kitchen and he was not in his greatest mood either. Keisuke, still speechless from his brother's morning lecture, was getting more than impatient with the clothespin he was currently trying to unclasp, he yanked Ryousuke's pine-green silk boxers off the clothespin and ripped a chunk. Ryousuke shot him a stern look upon the sound of his boxers ripping.   
  
"Uhhh...sorry...", Keisuke started with a sly grin on his face, ruffling his messy morning hair with one hand and holding up the green rag in the other, "....since when DID we have this much laundry? Besides, it's only OUR laundry....well, Tsugumi's too....Hey, speaking of her, where is she? Shouldn't she be the one helping since she comes over almost everyday and gets free tuition from you, bro?" Keisuke stated as he carried two baskets full of clothes to Ryousuke's direction.   
  
"Tsugumi has saturday school, remember? She can help if she wants to. Your breakfast is getting cold, fold the laundry later." said Ryousuke, trying to sound casual. Deep down, he wanted Keisuke to try his culinary skills. He hasn't made anything half decent since childhood cookies, but that was when Otou-san helped him. A sly smile appeared on his face as he recalled those memories of cooking, while accidentally taking a big swig out of his hot liquid. He groaned out loud in pain, as closed his eyes.  
  
"Ha ha ha, bro...smooth...veeerrry smoooooth." cooed Keisuke as he laughed some more. Ryousuke reopened his eyes and shot him a death glare. If there was one thing he hated in life, it was being laughed at. Keisuke grinned and stick his tongue out as he took a seat across from Ryousuke and stared at his food. Ryousuke took a bite of his french toast and started to read the newspaper again. Keisuke had started to poke his scrambled eggs around on his plate. He wrinkled his nose and made a face. "Bro, why are the eggs rubbery? My toast is black as an ugly GT-R that one asshole drives and my pancakes look like huge potato chips....OH, did YOU cook?!" asked Keisuke, gawking.   
  
"As a matter of fact, I did, Keisuke. Tell me, do your culinary skills exceed mine? I think not, so you better stop the mockery, or else..." said Ryousuke, still expressionless.  
  
"Oooo, a threat....." mumbled Keisuke playfully under his breath after Ryousuke turned back to his newspaper.  
  
"I heard that..." mumbled Ryousuke, not taking his eyes off his newspaper, as he turned the page to the automoblie section.  
  
CHAP 2: TO WASH, OR NOT TO WASH? 


	2. CHAP 2 : TO WASH OR NOT TO WASH

CHAP 2 : TO WASH OR NOT TO WASH  
  
CHAP 2 RATING : PG  
  
Ryousuke sighed as he watched Keisuke wash the dishes. Keisuke was concentrating so hard to scrub off the maple syrup that his tongue was sticking out on one side in frustration. Ryousuke finally came over to help dry the utensils and continued to observe his brother.  
  
"Bro…can we go order take out for lunch and dinner?!" cried Keisuke in exasperation.  
  
"Yes, I suppose, on one condition…no more McDonalds." Ryousuke started to go toward the door with his keys.   
  
"Why not? Is it because it's cheap?"  
  
"It is extremely unhealthy for your body to adapt to your consciousness when you're--"  
  
"OH GOD, look at you, bro…you resemble a friggin' skeleton!"   
  
Ryousuke fixated a cold stare at him while putting on his coat, "I'm heading off to the hospital now, lock and secure the doors if you plan to go out later. I'll be back for dinner." With that, he turned and closed the door firmly. Faint footsteps were heard and he could hear the garage open while his brother's rotary engine came to life. There was a screeching on tires as the garage closed again.  
  
"Ehhh…what a geek." said Keisuke as he finished drying his soapy hands with a napkin and stomped upstairs for a quick shower.  
  
---  
  
"Oh shit, where did my Abercrombie cargos go? I just bought them last week!" cried Keisuke, who was stooping around upstairs with only a towel around his waist. "Oh wait, the morning laundry in the backyard!" Keisuke fled downstairs like a half-covered runaway refugee and into the Takahashi's backyard. The wind was blowing uncompassionately while the rest of the clothes still hanging on the line looked like violent flags whipping themselves. As Keisuke rummaged through the baskets filled with laundry, he finally came across his beloved cargos. As he reached for them, his towel around his waist became loosened and before he knew it, his preferred yellow towel fluttered peacefully across the enormous yard, the sly smile on his face quickly turned into a scowl as he went after his towel in determined rage. The wind carried his towel into the cherry blossom trees and came to a stop around the swimming pool. Keisuke assumed that he probably ran half a mile, his breathing came in small pants. As he bent down to retrieve his towel, he slipped on the morning dew wetness on the fresh mowed lawn. As he helplessly tried to regain his proper balance, he mistakeningly slicked his damp foot against the marbled floor, which surrounded their Olympic-sized swimming pool, and in the water he went. From a mile away, a neighbor was awakened by a young man screaming and cursing about his day.  
  
---  
  
Kenta happily dialed in Keisuke's number. Keisuke eventually picked up after the fifth ring. Kenta took a minute to wonder why it took his idol so long, since normally, he would have heard Keisuke's voice by the second ring.  
  
"Oi Keisuke, I just received news that a new team just arrived in Akina."  
  
"Urm, really? What do they freaking want?" Keisuke muttered, drying off his hair for the second time that morning.  
  
"I believe they are called the Candies, rumor has it that they are currently accepting challenges from around the area."  
  
"Weird name, must be a group of gay fags who want to defeat Akina's eight six."  
  
"Hahaha, yeah we should go teach them a lesson."  
  
"I'll talk this over with my brother tonight--"  
  
"No, it's alright, Hirofumi called and informed him at the hospital."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah, he didn't sound interested, since he had the same opinion as you."  
  
"Hah, well, if I'm not busy, I'll go check it out. Saturday night?"  
  
"Yeah, usual times."  
  
"Alright then, see you at practice tonight."  
  
"Bye, Keisuke-sempai."  
  
CHAP 3: CANDIES 


	3. CHAP 3 : CANDIES

CHAP 3 : CANDIES  
  
CHAP 3 RATING : PG  
  
"Bro, you heard about that one team, Candies, coming to Akina right?" Keisuke took a large savor out of his lasagna. "By the way, this Italian takeout is great, where did you get it?" Keisuke's mouth was now full to the extent where Ryousuke wondered if it was going to explode. The sides of his mouth were smudged thoroughly with the creamy sauce. Ryousuke cringed at the sight of his baby brother as he took his fork to cut a decent piece of the pasta before delivering it to his mouth, just as Keisuke crammed another garlic breadstick into his own mouth.  
  
"Keisuke, control yourself…you're making a mess on the table, this is not an eating race," Ryousuke tried to continue their dinner conversation, while resisting the tendency to reach over and confiscate Keisuke's food until he was ready to eat like a gentleman again. "Indeed, I have heard about the Candies, but I won't be going tomorrow night, you and the others may go. Fujiwara also said he was going." Ryousuke cut away another piece as Keisuke finished his second bottle of coke.  
  
"Mmph, if you're not going, I won't bother either," Keisuke flashed a goofy grin at Ryousuke as he reached for another bottle of soda, but was stopped by Ryousuke's firm grip on his wrist.  
  
"As I said before, you have to show up at every challenge around this area to represent for Project D. Remember, Takumi still needs his basic knowledge and such." Ryousuke emerged from his chair with the tangerine soda bottle in one hand and into the kitchen.  
  
He came back seconds later with two tall glasses of milk. He handed one to Keisuke and sat back down to proceed onto his dinner, which Keisuke had finished in five minutes.  
  
"All right then, bro." Keisuke stated as he dunked an Italian sponge cookie into his milk. Ryousuke pretended not to notice.  
  
---  
  
"Keisuke! Where the hell were you?" Kenta ran over to his idol as Keisuke opened his car door and stepped out. His fans screamed the fancy greetings like normal. Sure, he admitted that some of the girls are cute, but how was he supposed to talk to all of them with his celebrity popularity?   
  
"I overslept, sorry," Keisuke ran his fingers through his messy spikes. "Where is Fujiwara?"  
  
"Oh. Takumi isn't here yet, but the Akina Speedstars have arrived along with everybody else." Kenta shifted nervously under Keisuke's gaze at him.  
  
"Oh?" Keisuke took a minute to observe the crowd around him, everyone was certainly here, the Myougi Night Kids, Impact Blue, and the Emperor. Just then, Fujiwara's famous AE86 Trueno flew into the scene. The Speedstars went over and greeted him. After all the warm welcoming, Takumi walked over to Keisuke and Kenta.   
  
"So, uh, who's taking the challenge from the Cans?" Takumi asked, while scratching his left cheek and body leaned against Keisuke's FD. Keisuke noticed this, wrinkled his nose a bit and decided to shrug it off since Takumi was practically becoming a close companion of his ever since he was part of Project D. Given any other person, he would have exaggerated this into a heated argument for his beloved car. He slightly chuckled at the thought of beating up Takumi. While, Takumi looked on at Keisuke with great confusion upon his fact.   
  
"Kyouichi Sudou eagerly took the challenge. People say he had felt depressioningly defeated ever since Ryousuke won their last battle. He has been taking all different kinds of challenges from various teams. His opponents have proclaimed his skills have become sharper." Kenta spoke with ease in his voice.   
  
"That bastard." Keisuke muttered as he took out his pack of cigarettes and made silent offers at Takumi and Kenta. Takumi passed while Kenta almost happily took one. "I hope whoever's his challenger wins, I hate that cocky, stuck up son of a bitch. He didn't deserve to race my brother in the first place." Keisuke took a long drag out of his cigarette and stared into the teams that were present...the Night Kids to be exact. Takeshi always seemed to have a mysterious stare in his eyes aimed at him. Keisuke shuddered just thinking about him. As socializing continued among the crowds, it was getting late. Keisuke peered at his watch: 10:27. He looked over at the Emperor area, everyone hinted impatience and irritation. No wonder, this so-called new team was already almost half an hour late. He snickered at the look on Kyouichi's face. When Kenta looked towards the Emperor team and he joined in the snickering.   
  
Cheering and exclamations were heard suddenly as a rumble of screeching tires came to a halt. Keisuke made a simple guess that they were the Candies. Gay name for a bunch of gay guys. A pine-green Jetta came into view, followed by a silver Lotus Elan and a dark blue Eclipse the two cars' acceleration are nearly identical. The Jetta made a casual swerve to parallel itself with Kyouichi's Lancer, while the Lotus and Eclipse made a U-turn to park in the nearest available space. As a young man with a golden-brown ponytail stepped out of his Eclipse, encouraging euro trance music was heard. The girls behind the guardrails squealed at his decent, attractive good looks. Keisuke rolled his eyes and threw his cigarette away.  
  
"Hello everyone, my name is Shinji and we are the Candies. Sorry for the delay, there was a serious accident on the highway, so the traffic turned chaotic. There are still some members of Candies who are unfortunately still in the hectic traffic. We made it here as fast as possible. Thank you for your patience.My friend in the Jetta is ready for the challenge." Shinji made a warm smile to deepen his apology. It seemed to work since the annoyed looks from some teams softened a bit. When he was done, a young girl stepped out from her Lotus. Her irritated look on her face made her look less beautiful than she truly is. She mumbled something in Shinji's ear and then came back to sit on her car hood, arms across her chest. Shinji looked at Seiji, "You must be the Emperor team, Kyouichi is representing, am I correct?" Seiji gave a reluctant nod. "Let the race begin, then."   
  
CHAP 4 : CANDIES VS EMPEROR 


	4. CHAP 4 : CANDIES VS EMPEROR

CHAP 4 : CANDIES VS EMPEROR  
  
CHAP 4 RATING : PG-13  
  
Shinji volunteered the countdown. There was so much anticipation in the air that the five seconds seemed like hours. The enchanting signal was heard as Shinji threw his arm down. He had to close his eyes to prevent damage as both cars flashed by him. He was looked almost stunned as he turned around to witness a glimpse of tail-lights disappearing swiftly with the wind. A young man came and gave him a radio transmitter. He thanked him and went back to his area and took out a fresh water bottle.  
  
"Mitsuko?", he waved another bottle in offer. Mitsuko shook her head and continued to glare at the pavement. "Now now, brighten up. What's the matter?" He cocked his head to one side to study her face.  
  
"Hell, what do you think? Kakumi didn't have to race that cocky bitch, even Rei could have finished him off." Mitsuko grumbled as she scanned the teams.  
  
"Well, as you can see, Rei and the others seem to be entangled on the freeway, still. If we had waited any longer, it will bring disgrace to our name." Shinji tried to provoke an affectionate smile on his face to comfort her.   
  
"Shinji, Kakumi is our leader, don't you think showing off our best driver a little too soon will bring us more disgrace?"  
  
"Still, Mitsuko...this is our first time racing here, we don't want any doubts rising about winning or not. We want to win for sure to set a bench record to stabilize our name on, do you feel me?" Shinji playfully winked at his teammate, who in return, gave out a small chuckle. "There we go!" Shinji exclaimed, as he succeeded in his small mission. Before neither could say anything else, his transmitter radio beeped.  
  
"This is checkpoint number three reporting! The Jetta is still trailing closely behind the LanEvo, the closeness between the two cars are remarkable. No one has ever twin drifted with the LanEvo so graceful. Over."  
  
"Heh heh. Duh." Mitsuko had returned to her sarcastic self. Shinji smiled and placed his walkie talkie on the hood of his car. Both of them ignored the other foreign stares as they continued to joke around. It stopped only when there was a set of rumbled engines pulling into the lanes. "Ha ha ha! Our family is finally here! You frigging punks, what took you guys so long?" Mitsuko yelled as she strode over to Rei's Galant and pounded on his car window. Random guys from the crowds made whistling sounds at her, which she managed to ignore. Shinji ran to Yuu and Masao, and punching his friends playfully on the arms.  
  
"Man, aren't you guys here a little early? Wait till next year!!" Shinji snickered as he dodged incoming fists aimed at him. "Hey, what do you guys have in those bags?" Shinji asked with curiosity as he pointed at the brown bags.  
  
"Hah, we figured that if we were already late, why not buy some grub to munch on! Yes, I know I'm a genius." Yuu laughed as he ran his fingers through his brown hair.   
  
"Dude, but it was my idea to buy the sushi--" Masao started, but was interrupted by the radio transmitter.  
  
"This is checkpoint number 6 reporting, the Jetta is now in the lead after accelerating through the hairpins. The Jetta had managed to move in place with the wind tonight. The drifting has now decreased upon both cars as this has changed into sliding rival. Over."  
  
---  
  
Kenta was also holding a transmitting device as he received the information. Keisuke and Takumi leaned on the FD's hood as Hirofumi came over to huddle with the trio for the last broadcasting at the last checkpoint.   
  
"Keisuke, what do you think of this new team?" questioned Kenta as he put the electronic device down.  
  
"Didn't you hear the last report? The drivers are too close to compare." Keisuke felt his adrenaline rising and lit another cigarette. "Not bad, from the looks of it, they seem pretty carefree about the dude they sent out against the Emperor."  
  
"So...the Cans seem like---" Takumi started as he looked over the Speedstars who were coming towards them.  
  
"The Candies," corrected Kenta, "Why do you keep on calling them the Cans?"  
  
"Whoops." Takumi scratched the back of his neck just as Itsuki jumped over to him.  
  
"Takumi! What took you so long to get here?!" cried Itsuki, slapping Takumi hard on the back. As Takumi groaned in pain, a loud curse was heard from the Candies.  
  
---  
  
"Oh fuck!" shrieked Mitsuko, jumping off the hood of her car, "Kakumi forgot to take the medications on the kitchen table!!" Yuu and Masao widened their eyes, as they dropped the food bags on the hood of one their cars. Shinji looked like he was analyzing the grass he was stepping on and Rei looked at Mitsuko like she just announced a deadly bomb was triggered somewhere near. They all knew what was going to happen to their friend in the Jetta. The radio transmitter beeped again and Shinji quicken his steps to the hood of his car to retrieve the messages.  
  
"Both cars should be near the finish line. Over"  
  
Indeed, a pair of gleaming headlights were seen followed by another fainter pair of lights. "Isn't that Kakumi's Jetta?" Rei ran his hands into his blonde hair and held it there as he continued scanning.  
  
"Holy hot damn shit, it is." Mitsuko said in a flat tone. A loud screeching of corrupted tires were heard, as a Jetta pulled up across the finish line, almost skidding to a harsh stop. "Fuck, fuck..." Mitsuko ran over to the driver side and yanked open the driver's door. The crowd went in roars of whispers as a girl fell into Mitsuko's arms, her jeans from the knee down were glints of blood. Mitsuko undid her seat belt as the others from the team rushed over. Kyouichi stepped out of his car from the sidelines to meet his opponent who had beaten him, but found a knocked-out girl instead being carried away as another girl tried to wipe the blood stains from inside the Jetta.  
  
"What the fuck happened?" demanded Kyouichi, as he neared Shinji cleaning up Kakumi's wound on a blanket near the guardrail.   
  
"I'm not too sure..." Shinji trailed off as he turned around to see Mitsuko and the others trying to hold back the crowd who was advancing towards them in great curiosity. "Oh damn, not this too..."  
  
---  
  
CHAP 5 : KAKUMI 


	5. CHAP 5 : KAKUMI

CHAP 5 : KAKUMI  
  
CHAP 5 RATING : PG-13  
  
"Hey Keisuke, look at that girl who just won the race, she's knocked out! I wonder what happened..." Kenta tried shifting his feet to get a better view at the random scenario. "It looks like they are trying to hold the crowd back...damn, must be a pain."  
  
"What the hell?! How did the driver turn out to be another chick? All this time I thought it was a freaking bastard driving!" Keisuke exhaled his cigarette slowly while sitting on the hood of his FD, hands in his pocket. "I see specks of blood." He wrinkled his nose in disgust.  
  
"Hmmph. I wonder..." started Takumi, as he smoothed his fingers through his bangs. Itsuki and the Speedstars were trying desperately to dive into the crowd to apprehend what had happened just seconds ago.   
  
"I'm calling my brother." Keisuke announced as he reached for his cell and threw away his second cigarette. For some reason, he couldn't explain why his body was reacting strangely nervous tonight. He noticed his new pack of Marlboro was already half wasted. "Hello? Bro? Did anyone report the results to you yet? Oh, well...Kyouichi lost. He lost to a girl. Yes, really. Yes, a female." He paused a while until his brother was done choking on his coffee. "You alright? But that chick passed out. Yeah, weird. Okay. Yes, I'll try. Alright then. Bye." He withdrew from his position to walk over to the Candies. When Kenta questioned him but found no reply, he tagged along with Keisuke.   
  
---  
  
"Shinji, dude, give her some space goddamnit." muttered Rei, as he came back from explaining to the crowd to keep things under control.  
  
"No, she'd be waking up just about...three...two...one...now." Mitsuko looked at the bloody rags on the floor. Sure enough, Kakumi's eyes fluttered open. "Kakumi, you retard, why the hell didn't you take the medication I left for you in the hotel? Oh and what is up with your lower knee injury? Did you try to bang yourself while drifting?!" Mitsuko fired more questions left and right.  
  
"Shit Mitsuko! She just woke up, okay? Chill." Shinji tried to calm her tension down to a tolerable level. Kakumi rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she tried to pull herself up from the blanket but groaned as she discovered the pain in her knee. "Whoa there missy, careful!" Shinji held her from falling and laughed.  
  
"Impressive, Mitsuko...how did you know she would wake up?" questioned Masao, scratching his head.  
  
"Oh, this happens on occasion, I get used to it, ha ha! Sorry Kakumi, you okay?" Mitsuko walked closer to her paranoid friend.  
  
"I don't find this hilarious at all. I almost had an accident." Kakumi nearly remarked with a solemn face, which suddenly turned into a frown. "Okay, about your questions..." She looked up at the night sky and paused a brief moment before continuing, almost as if she was reading her own fragmented memories. "I was running late and someone thought it would be funny to replace my medications with Scooby Doo vitamin C for children. I didn't discover that until I was in my car. Secondly, my brakes weren't working too well since I made a discovery an hour ago that my grandpa installed a new turbo engine while I was away...it was difficult to control. That's where I got my messed up injury from. Each time I parallel drifted, I had to shift the accelerator the same time as I pumped on the brakes so I wouldn't crash my car. It's hard to explain when you're having a major headache, I'm tired..." Kakumi managed to regain her balance as she weaved her way through to her Jetta. She turned around, "I apologize, it's a pretty crappy explanation. Do whatever we normally do when our opponents lose to us." She observed the circular crowd around her, and instantly felt like an imitation of a college professor lecturing students.   
  
"Sorry...I didn't mean to.." Shinji approached her again to help her into her car. While Mitsuko and the others stayed behind to take care of business with the victory against the Emperor cluster. When they were done with their duties, they were stopped in the middle by a mob of new fans.  
  
"Shinji, it's not your fault. I should see grandpa tomorrow. Man...it's ridiculous how he does things to my car at the last minute without telling me beforehand."  
  
"But you did knew about the engine when we were stuck on the freeway, right?"  
  
"Yeah, true...but what could I have possibly have done?! Skid all the way back home?"  
  
"Ha ha---" Shinji turned around to face Kyouichi and Seiji.   
  
"Oh, yeah...nice racing you, Kyouichi. Your driving skills are among the best I have seen." Kakumi held out a hand. Kyouichi reluctantly took it and walked away with an attitude. Seiji turned around again to fixate a glare at them. "I wonder why Kyouichi wouldn't talk to me...he could of at least argued or something, that's not like him...at least not from what I've heard about his character anyways." Shinji chuckled softly. "Oh, tell the others there's no team meeting tomorrow. Just come over to my place and relax, okay?" Kakumi tried to force a tired smile.  
  
"Sounds great. They are still probably baffled about your attitude over there." Shinji pointed to a nearby crowd.  
  
"Ha ha ha. I better go."  
  
"You can handle the new engine? Be careful, your injuries still need recovery!"  
  
"Thanks, I still need time to get used to it, but hey, have you heard from Fujiwara Takumi tonight?"  
  
"Not that I know of, you want me to ask around?"  
  
"That would be great, Shinji. Thanks!" Kakumi closed her door and started the engine. Just as she did a U-turn and flourished out into the night, Keisuke finally made his way through the throngs of people scattered throughout the area.   
  
"Hi. Uh..." Keisuke was facing Shinji, "I'm Takahashi Keisuke, member of the Akagi Red Suns...oh damn, was that the Jetta?"   
  
"You just missed it, did you want to talk to the driver?" Shinji slowly walked to his car.  
  
"Yeah, do you think it would be possible if you and your team could stop by Akagi tomorrow?" Keisuke blurted as followed Shinji and constructed a closer look at him. //Damn, some of his features remind me of my brother.//  
  
"What for?" Shinji opened his car door as the rest of the Candies team huddled around Keisuke and Shinji. Keisuke felt extremely out of place as he shifted from one foot to another.  
  
"Uhh...it's more like a practice meet..."  
  
"Aye Shinji, why did you let Kakumi go off like that? Her injuries are still mending on the edge, man." Rei commented as the rest of the team nodded their heads in agreement towards Shinji.   
  
"She said she'd be alright. Don't worry about her, she doesn't hide anything painful." Shinji turned back to Keisuke.  
  
"I'm not too sure about our team schedule, how about we give you a call when we aren't occupied? Does that sound like a plan?"  
  
"Mmmm, sure?" Keisuke searched in his pockets in hopes for a gum wrapper to write his cell number, but Shinji easily took out a notebook from his car. They exchanged information and both teams departed the location, leaving behind the screaming fans.  
  
CHAP 6: TO DISCOVER  
  
AUTHOR NOTES: Hey all readers! Please submit more feedback so I could stay motivated to write more! Thanks! Next chapter coming soon. 


	6. CHAP 6 : TO DISCOVER

AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you guys haven't figured it out already; //--// implies thoughts. Just making sure. Thanks for all the feedback/comments! Keep them going! Enjoy!  
  
CHAP 6 : TO DISCOVER  
  
CHAP 6 RATING : PG  
  
It was practically two in the morning when Keisuke opened the front door. Ryousuke had entirely lost track of time while working on his laptop. He could hear Keisuke's wearied footsteps intruding the stairs and into the quiet hallway. Ryousuke rotated his leather chair facing the doorway, knowing very well that his brother would barge in the door any second. His hypothesis was proved positive when--"Yo Bro!"--Keisuke threw open the entrance and took note of his brother's gaze at him. "Oh yeah huh, kinda home early tonight, eh? I went to the nightclub with the guys, I felt drowsy so came home." He flashed a tired grin at the foiled Ryousuke, "I think I'm getting sick, bro, I have these weird things screwing on me..."  
  
"What weird things?" Ryousuke switched off his laptop and returned his questioning stare at Keisuke, who had plopped himself down comfortably on the bed.  
  
"Uh...I feel nervous and exhausted, for no reason." Keisuke closed his eyes, with an arm across his forehead and continued, "Probably explains my over dosage on my wasted smokes." Ryousuke raised an eyebrow, arms folded. "Which reminds me, where do you buy your cigarettes, bro?" Ryousuke's arched eyebrow deepened as his face turned into a confused expression. //What kind of other stupid questions can Keisuke ask? Did he have an alcoholic beverage?//  
  
"First off, my suggestion to you is to correspond yourself to more sleep. As I've told you many times before, overdoses on cigarettes are not healthy." Ryousuke swiveled his seat so that Keisuke's forehead was within reach, he gently replaced Keisuke's slung arm with his left hand. "You also have a slight fever, " he removed his hand, "You should also limit yourself when it comes to alcohol. It could damage your nervous system. I'm going downstairs to make you some warm organic coffee."  
  
"Ew, coffee. I hate coffee, bro!" Keisuke was behaving like a spoiled youngster. Ryousuke sighed deeply, closed his eyes and reopened them. This night is going to be long...  
  
"I see you drink it sometimes, so I thought--"  
  
"Hey! That one time was different! We were in public during a headline interview for a magazine, I wanted to look...older. I also dumped enough sugar in that damn cup so I couldn't taste the coffee at all." Keisuke pouted. Ryousuke groaned. It was almost two thirty in the morning and his twenty-one-year old brother was acting...not quite his age. He had also set aside his hospital documents ever since Keisuke's phone call reported the victory gained by the new team in town; he was determined to increase his knowledge on this unfamilar team. His sleeping schedule last night wasn't all that great either, he went to bed around eleven and was awakened by an emergency phone call informing him to come into the hospital at two in the morning for a patient in critical condition. To top that all off, he had skipped his evening shower. Then, as if a divine act was cast on Keisuke, he opened his eyes to study the irritated facial expression on his slumberous older brother.  
  
"Actually, just make me some Green Jasmine tea, that's the extent of my sophisticated drinking tastes. Make me any other tea flavors and this sickness of mine will start puking all over the house...and you will have to help me wipe it up!" Ryousuke sighed heavily and got up from his chair and headed downstairs, turning on all the lights. After all, who knew if Keisuke had misplaced anything sharp on the floor? Ryousuke shook his head as he thought about his disorganized brother. He was looking for the teabags when he came upon a fancy colored ramen noodle cup. It was probably Keisuke's. The designs on the container made it look exquisitely attractive. Just then, as if a mere coincidence had happened, his stomach growled. He had also forgotten to eat ever since last night.  
  
"Arugh." Ryousuke was waiting for the tea to get done as he turned back to analyze the ramen noodles. His body had been running on coffee for energy and the caffeine was enough to make him feel irrational hamster on steroids. He tore open the package without further thought and poured in the leftover boiling water. He lifted the teapot lid to examine the tea. Not even close to being dark. He shrugged slightly and reached for a pair of chopsticks to begin his meal.   
  
The noodles had a fresh chewy texture and the soup base smelled chunky and full of flavor. But just as he was taking his second savor out of his newfound treasure, his tongue incorporated jalapeño spices. He paused halfway between his chopsticks' acknowledgment into his mouth and did something totally unlike his original calm, cool, leader-of-Project-D- self. He widened his eyes and squealed slighty into the steaming container. The squeal wasn't loud enough for upstairs to hear, or at least he hoped not. He quickly placed away his burdened cup of noodles into the toaster oven and dashed over to the refrigerator to locate some cold water.   
  
"Finally. Jeez, bro. What took so long?" Keisuke still had his eyes closed, resting on his bed, with a facial expression comparable to a dog who was experiencing intoxication. He peered open his eyelids, "Holy freaking shit! What happened to your face?! It's freaking red! And oh! Your lips! They look like you got punched! Did you just take your FC out and dove into a gangster fight? Bro!" Ryousuke couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was seriously enough to be considered a night. He glanced at his clock. Three thirty. His body had made it through the day consisting of; three hours of sleep, countless cups of coffee and a moderate dab of ramen noodles.   
  
"Keisuke, here's your tea. I'm surprised you haven't fallen asleep yet. And no, for your information, your brother didn't drive his car out at three thirty in the morning to get into a gang fight." With that, Ryousuke held out a tall white glass of warm tea and silently motioned his brother to get out of his bedroom.  
  
"Thanks." Keisuke rose up with the glass and soon in a standing position. He nodded to his brother and headed to his room. Ryousuke switched off the faint nightstand lights and didn't bother to change his clothes as he jumped--or almost hurdled himself--into the warm, silky, comfy blankets and slept like a child...with cherry-red lips.  
  
---  
  
"What the hell? Kakumi! Answer your damn door!" Mitsuko pounded on her friend's door some more until she heard footsteps from the other side of the door and then the entrance swung open to reveal a Kakumi in a white robe, rubbing her eyes. "It's already noon, girl."  
  
"Oh? I'm still tired from last night. It feels as if I just slept for three hours. Heh heh." Kakumi's laugh sounded almost like plastic as she locked her door. She headed to the kitchen and brought back two glasses of orange juice.  
  
"I think you're either getting really sick or your new engine is seriously messing with your brain." Kakumi laid her head down on the kitchen counter and snored in response. "Oh. My. Gosh. You sleepyhead..." Mitsuko reluctantly carried her friend to a nearby sofa and found a blanket to drape over her. She dialed Shinji's number. "Shinji? Mitsuko. I don't think Kakumi is going to Akagi. I guess it's just us. Ha ha ha, alright, I will. See you then. Bye."   
  
Mitsuko wrote a note and stuck it onto the refrigerator with a frog magnet. She couldn't help but comment to herself about how neat the kitchen is. Not that the rest of Kakumi's apartment was extremely messy, she knew how lazy it could get when you move around so much with the amount of crap to unpack each time. She helped herself to Kakumi's refrigerator, knowing for a fact, there would be something unusually fancy in there to nibble on--if Kakumi was known for anything else, it would be cooking. Indeed, categorized by texture and colors, were classy Italian cakes, perfectly laid upon silver platters. "Holy cow." Muttered Mitsuko, as she helped herself to the sweet treats her friend had made. "So this is why that retard has been hanging around her kitchen." She grinned at the thought of Kakumi yelling for invading her "food privacy" without permission, again. Not that Kakumi would do such a thing, she could care less if random people came into her kitchen and started robbing food. That girl had a fond for sharing her cooked goods. Which is probably why the team doted on her so much for culinary ideas. Minutes after cleaning after herself, she locked the door and left.  
  
---  
  
CHAP 7 : MEET YOU THERE 


	7. CHAP 7 : MEET YOU THERE

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for all the reviews! =] Yes, I did know that the car model for Eclipse was not an official Japanese vehicle, the story about that car will emerge slowly! More feedback wanted! =]  
  
CHAP 7 : MEET YOU THERE  
  
CHAP 7 RATING : PG  
  
'Ding dong...ding dong...' Keisuke shifted around in his bed, disturbed by the sudden sound coming from above his head on the ceiling. 'Ding dong...' The melody continued as he grumbled muffles into his pillow, but at the same time enjoying the scents of leftover cologne after-shave from a week ago. He had forgotten about the doorbell device Ryousuke had installed in each of their bedrooms. Ever since their parents' absence, neither of them could hear the doorbell from upstairs in their four-story mansion. On a normal basis, their maid Hitomi, who paces around downstairs, would answer the door, but since she isn't here either, the doorbell is useless to get any of their attention when they were not downstairs. Keisuke's room was stationed on the third floor, accompanying rooms include: Ryousuke's, Tsugumi's, parents' master room, and bonus rooms. They rarely stepped foot into the fourth floor, it was a gigantic storage attic.   
  
Keisuke swung his left leg onto the floor, and smashed CDs that were scattered around. He huffed a noise and reluctantly positioned his body to sit up. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and staggered up towards the door. His vision was still blurry from the early morning. //What. The. Hell. Can't bro get the damn door?!// He stepped on a bag of unopened Cheetos and the chip bag exploded, flying out numerous contents throughout the floor. He swore loudly as he yanked open his door and plodded down the stairs carelessly. When he reached the double-door main entrance, he peeped through the door-hole to discover a mailman with a medium sized brown package in hand, ready to get one of the Takahashi's signature on his clipboard.  
  
The mailman was awfully familiar, with a smile still pasted on his face, like permanent glue. Keisuke wondered how anyone could possibly still be in a joyful mood, even after waiting for so long before a household member of the Takahashis actually answered the door.   
  
"Good morning, Mr.Takahashi! Will you please sign here for your mail?" The mailman's brown bangs framed his face perfectly, making him look approachable in a friendly way.  
  
"Morning." Mumbled Keisuke as he grabbed the clipboard and fumbled with his signature. They made an exchange, Keisuke thanked him and closed the door with the brown package in hand. He started to examine the package in his hands. There was no return address, but it was for Ryousuke. He started trudging up the stairs and decided to drop off the package in Ryousuke's room. He knocked once, didn't bother to wait for an answer, and barged in. What he saw made him drop the package onto the floor and snicker.   
  
Ryousuke was wearing earmuffs. Earmuffs that were whiter than his FC. Fuzzy earmuffs. Through the laughter, he had noticed that his brother had not moved one bit to the sudden noise brought in. He strolled over to check his brother's pulse rate. //Good, he's still alive. Are his earmuffs anti-sound?// A mischievous grin grew on his face as he suddenly yanked off Ryousuke's earmuffs, causing Ryousuke's head to fall back abruptly on his silk pillows. Ryousuke stirred a bit under the comforter. Keisuke then proceeded to pounce his whole body onto his brother. Ryousuke's eyes fluttered open--at first, in awe and curiosity, but then, in shock. His eyes widened in an alarmed state, but before he could proclaim an exclamation, Keisuke strived his best to produce a horrific look on his baby face, "BRO! Fire! Fire! I accidentally set our damn house on fucking fire! Get up!" Keisuke practically screamed his lungs out to the astonished Ryousuke lying beneath him. Ryousuke blinked. "AHHHH!" Keisuke mocked a manly scream and waved his arms frantically like a monkey to get his message across. Ryousuke blinked. When the words finally registered in Ryousuke's mind, he instinctively threw the Keisuke-monkey to the floor.  
  
"Keisuke! Good grief! Don't just sit there, get hel-", Ryousuke paused. "Oh just wait a minute here, why didn't the fire alarm system go off then?" Ryousuke flung himself off the bed, but accidentally on Keisuke, who was sprawling on the ground, still in pain from the sudden throw.   
  
"Bro! My legs! Get off!" Keisuke whined. Ryousuke wobbled off, but managed to balance himself.   
  
"Whoops."  
  
"Oww...I think you broke my legs, bro." Keisuke looked up at the now glaring Ryousuke. "Umm, morning?" Keisuke grinned.  
  
"Why on earth did you pull a prank like that at...noon?" Ryousuke checked the clock again. "Impossible, how could it be noon? I'm running late. But still, Keisuke, your behavior worries me." Ryousuke started to walk towards the door, but noticed the brown package on the ground and picked it up.  
  
"Oh, and that's for you, bro. The prank was for not answering the door for the mail this morning! Ha ha!" Keisuke staggered up and went over to his brother, who was now tearing the package open carefully, ignoring Keisuke's comments. "One more thing, why did you wear ear-muffs in bed?" Ryousuke looked up.  
  
"Oh finally, my Mazda handbook that I ordered a month ago, came! Oh, our neighbor was mowing their lawn at five thirty, it was a distraction for quality sleep. Those earmuffs are useful, they warm you up as well as blocking out any disturbing sounds."  
  
"Which will perfectly explain why you didn't answer the door this morning! Which also leads to why I'm up so friggin' early!" Keisuke said in a mocking-cheerful tone. That comment managed to pull a mere smile on Ryousuke's face.   
  
"Might as well get up, after all, it's noon. We're on bliss that today is a weekend. I want to go over some courses with you. Tsugumi won't be coming over today, so we're both free to leave the house."   
  
"Oh, that's great. I had also inform the Candies team about our Project D meet today, so you could expect them to swing by while we're at it."  
  
"Oh? Pleasant, I'm looking forward to that. Now, I'm going to take a shower. By the way, it is your turn to prepare our lunch. Let's see how far your culinary skills stretch, Keisuke." With that, Ryousuke turned his back and heaved open his closet to choose an outfit. Keisuke was watching his brother, curious about what he was going to select from the wide variety of polos, turtlenecks, pull-overs, wife-beaters, multi-categories of pressed pants and coats. He rolled his eyes.   
  
"Bro, there is no way on earth...that a purple shirt and a pair of green pants go together. Here, let the ol' mighty God of Fashion can help you." Keisuke seized the clothes in Ryousuke's hands and replaced them carelessly back in the closet with a light blue wife-beater, white tank top, and a pair of khakis. "Take these. Oh, if you want to drive the ladies crazy, wear the white tank top inside the wife-beater without buttoning anything." Keisuke winked.  
  
"Um, no, I think that would be unnecessary." Ryousuke frowned and folded the tank top, placed it back into his closet and took out the clothes Keisuke had thrown in. "Keisuke, please fold these properly and put them back. After that, get ready yourself." Keisuke wrinkled his nose.  
  
---  
  
Kakumi stretched her legs, rubbed her eyes and sat up from the sofa. "Holy moly, it's twelve thirty already?!" She mouthed the words to herself in a shocked whisper. //Wasn't Mitsuko here half an hour ago?// She shrugged as she got up and went into the bathroom for a quick shower.  
  
---  
  
Keisuke opened the refrigerator and scowled. //Arugh, I can't believe we ran out of ham!// He continued to take out the butter, eggs, cheese and bakery biscuits Ryousuke had brought home the other night. "Oh, perfect. How the hell am I going to make English muffins? Not a single slice of ham in this gigantic kitchen, how pathetic." A thought crossed his mind that made the scowl disappear. //Hmm, I wonder if I can take my FD out to the grocery store and come back with ham on time before bro gets out of the shower?// With that in mind, he ran without second thought for the garage. Once in his beloved car, he happily cranked up the engine and screeched his tires on the way out into the driveway and accelerated on the gas into the city. Keisuke had so much energetic determination that he had forgotten he was still in his sleep-wear, which consisted of: boxers with imprint designs of rubber ducks, a thin gray tank top and a pair of brown house slippers.  
  
---  
  
"Where did half of my Italian cakes go?!" Kakumi cried to herself, as she struggled to dry her hair in a towel with one hand. She took the remaining cakes out and slammed the refrigerator shut. "Oh. Mitsuko..." She caught sight of the bright neon green post-it note with the familiar handwriting. //Weird, I must have been in a frenzy coming out of the shower to not see that note the first time.// She reached for the cordless phone and punched in Mitsuko's cell number. "Mitsuko, you dork! Those cakes in your body right now were for my grandpa! What do you mean you didn't know? I told you the night before...Oh, shut up! Ha ha ha, it's alright. I'll just make new ones. Where are you right now? Oh, if I get done with the cakes, I'll stop by. Yeah, my legs are feeling better, thanks. Okay, see you then." Kakumi placed the phone back to recharge and sighed. She threw her towel across the room to land on the sofa and gradually gathered up all the ingredients for her recipe.  
  
---  
  
CHAP 8 : WHO ARE YOU 


	8. CHAP 8 : WHO ARE YOU

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally updated! I apologize for the long wait, keep those reviews coming! ^_^ The more the better for updates!  
  
CHAP 8 : WHO ARE YOU  
  
CHAP 8 RATING : PG  
  
"Oh my God, isn't that Keisuke Takahashi from the Red Suns?" cooed a girl to her little circle of friends around a shopping cart. Another girl in the group squealed in delight.   
  
"He is so cool! Super cute!" another girl yelped, while dropping the cereal box she was holding. Keisuke was walking swiftly through the aisles looking for the ham he wanted. He had also just noticed his choice of clothing, and pajamas with rubber ducks wasn't what he wanted the public to see him in. With an irritated scowl on his face, he managed to shove a pack of honey ham and cheddar cheese into his mini red basket and marched off to pay for his items. But, just as he would have guessed, he only caught more attention.  
  
"Ahh! Aren't you Keisuke Takahashi?!" the cashier girl practically brawled onto the counter. Keisuke cringed. If there was one thing he didn't like about girls today, it was the bubble headed ones in the morning. He nodded. "Can you please sign your name here?!" the cashier girl grabbed a random magazine easily off one of the nearby magazine racks--which coincidentally had the Takahashi Brothers on the cover. Keisuke arched his brows as the girl fumbled around trying to find a pen. He was in a hurry to make breakfast and he had to put up with his public image...definitely not helping his temper. He reached for his wallet--which he had thankfully remembered, and pulled out a few bills and gave them to the cashier girl. While doing so, he grabbed the pen and scribbled a messy signature onto the magazine. The girl behind the counter watched Keisuke dreamily as he walked briefly to the exit. It was a wonderful exit, for it was encircled by another group of girls cooing at Keisuke. He rolled his eyes and ran to the other exit across the store. There was absolutely no time for a two hour autograph session at the local grocery store. He ran into the parking lot, careful not to drop his ham and cheese, and found his FD. But before he could get into his car, a green Jetta pulled into the parking space next to him.   
  
---  
  
"Keisuke! Could you please hand me a bottle of shampoo from the cabinet? We're out! Keisuke?" shouted Ryousuke from inside the shower. "Keisuke? Can you hear me?!" Ryousuke grunted and decided continue on without shampoo.   
  
---  
  
Kakumi had ran out of butter and sugar, she rushed to the nearest grocery store and slipped into an empty parking space. She was surprised to find a familiar magazine cover boy stop dead in his tracks with ham and cheese in his possession. He stared at her, dumbfounded. Keisuke Takahashi. The name finally registered in her head. She turned off her engine and got herself out of her car.  
  
---  
  
Keisuke was frozen. Last night's winner in the Jetta is also here for groceries...and to see him in pajamas. The young girl emerged from her car freely and acknowledged a warm smile to him. "Hello there. I'm Kakumi from the Candies." Keisuke managed to straighten himself out of his thoughts.   
  
"I'm Keisuke Takahashi, the second representative driver from the Akagi Red Suns." He said with confidence. Suddenly, his pride took over his introduction, "And I challenge you to a race. Are you willing to accept?" he heard himself say, while pointing a finger at her. Kakumi blinked. //A guy in his pajamas with ham and cheese is challenging me. Ha ha. Cute.//   
  
"I will accept, on the behalf of my team."  
  
"It's a deal then. I will see you around." With that, he plopped into his car and started his engine. As he pulled out of the parking lot, a group of girls squealed and tried to run after him. Kakumi laughed and went into the store.  
  
---  
  
Ryousuke was adjusting his shirt collar when he heard the garage open. //Did Keisuke go out? Why?// Curiosity surrounded him as he continue to dry his hair with his towel.   
  
Keisuke flung his ham and cheese onto the kitchen counter and started to work rapidly; gathering more ingredients from cabinets, spreading the butter onto the buns, opening packages, chopping things on the cutting board and all the while with food flying everywhere. From afar, he looked like a cook that has gone insane.  
  
"Keisuke, are you okay?" Ryousuke glided smoothly down the stairs, still drying his hair with a small towel.  
  
"Yes bro, your meal is almost done. Give me a sec." Ryousuke watched in amusement as Keisuke sliced both of their English muffins in half. "Here it is." Keisuke handed his brother a plate of burnt food piled up. Ryousuke took the plate with both hands and stared at it.  
  
---  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


	9. CHAP 9 : SWEET REALITY

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer!   
  
CHAP 9 : SWEET REALITY  
  
CHAP 9 RATING : PG-13  
  
"Good stuff, eh?" Keisuke observed his brother. Ryousuke did not look pleased at all. However, he did manage to finish the whole plate of food that Keisuke prepared. Keisuke, on the other hand, had his eye on Ryousuke's reactions throughout their lunch. "Well, it's even now...we both are not the best of cooks, but hey, at least we both tried!" chuckled Keisuke, running his hand through his hair.   
  
"Keisuke, may I ask how you managed to get sauce all over our kitchen cabinets?" Ryousuke had gotten up from his chair, heading towards the dishwasher, holding a tower of plates and bowls. "And how did you end up knocking over all the bottles of spices that mother bought in Europe? Was it in your way?" Ryousuke glanced over at Keisuke, who was still picking at his plate.   
  
"Well, things were getting dangerous...pots were all boiling over, things in the microwave exploding, and the oven had weird popping noises. So...I guess I was rushing? I dunno. Oh well. I'll clean everything up with Windex later." Keisuke got up with his share of plates and went over to the sink. "Oh, and by the way, dishwasher doesn't work."   
  
"I beg your pardon?" asked Ryousuke, in disbelief. "No wonder the configurations were all wrong!" Ryousuke crouched down to get a better view of their disfunctioned Whirlpool. "Keisuke! Why?!"  
  
"Umm...I dunno. I think I kicked it. Sorry."   
  
"Keisuke, this is going straight out of your bank account..." muttered Ryousuke. He dried his hair one last time with the towel that was still around his neck from the shower and tossed it to Keisuke . "Your face has flour streaks. Wipe it. Ridiculous." Ryousuke walked off.   
  
"What a fag." Keisuke stuck his tongue at behind Ryousuke's back.   
  
"I heard that." Ryousuke grumbled, reaching upstairs, turning into the electronic room.  
  
"Man, whatever." Keisuke turned around and gasped. Behind him, were two towers of dirty dishes, bowls and utensils, awaiting to be cleaned and sanitized. Keisuke casted a dark glare at the dishwasher beneath him. Because of this impaired machine, he had to wash the dishes the agonizing way. He started to rinse the dishes, and halfway through, glared at the broken dishwasher once more, and kicked it.  
  
After checking his cables and gadgets in the electronic room, Ryousuke paced back into his room. Just as he was opening his laptop to check his email, Keisuke barged in and flopped himself on the bed. "Now...that was insane. Dishes are all separate nightmares, man!" complained Keisuke. "And! No need to worry about the cabinets! All cleaned! Yes!" Keisuke felt like he was talking to himself. Just then, Ryousuke reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a bag.  
  
"Here, sample some Dutch chocolate. Your award for kitchen maintenance." Ryousuke held out the bag of multicolored candies to the exhausted Keisuke, who was laying on his bed with an arm across his face. Keisuke peered at Ryousuke through his arm, and then slowly traced his vision to the bag of candy.   
  
"Oh! Brother! I forgot to tell you something!" Keisuke jolted upwards in an abrupt way, causing Ryousuke to lean back onto his chair. "I saw a girl at the grocery store!"  
  
"May you be more specific?" Ryousuke asked, somewhat annoyed at Keisuke's sudden excitement.  
  
"I meant, I saw the girl from the new team "The Candies", your Mexican chocolate reminded me." Keisuke explained, while reaching for the candy himself.  
  
"Dutch chocolate you mean, and yes, I remember you telling me about their team. The Candies have been around, I looked for  
  
for their information on the database. Their distinctive history shows that they have connections everywhere. That is, in comparison with the rest of the teams that we have battled against. This team is not simple."  
  
"Ah, I see. Oh, and guess what? She accepted my challenge." Keisuke was beaming with pride, Ryousuke stopped chewing on his candy.  
  
"Keisuke. Excuse me?" Ryousuke wasn't having the best day so far. Keisuke sensed this, surely, by his brother's facial expression.  
  
"I asked her, and she accepted. Simple. Plus, she's a girl. I will beat her!"   
  
"Keisuke, do you know what kind of team this is?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
"Apparently, you don't have a clue! Do you know what makes them so different and dangerous at the same time?"  
  
"Brother, please, their name...just take a look at their name---The Candies. Isn't that the most queerest team name you have ever heard? I'm sure the drivers are as well."  
  
"Keisuke, then let me fill you in on their backgrounds. When they battle, they battle with food."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I mean, during a battle with them, you have to eat while driving."  
  
"Eat what? A pack of candy?"  
  
"You are obviously not taking this seriously, allow me to show you some pictures I have found on the internet." With that, Keisuke scooted closer to his brother and observed the monitor screen while his brother typed in an address, did numerous clicks and typed in random passwords to gain access. Ryousuke then scrolled down to a menu containing a picture gallery and clicked a button. The screen brought up a picture of a man lying on the floor while paramedics gave critical assistance to him.   
  
"What happened?" Keisuke stared at the screen, dumbfounded.  
  
"This was during one of the races with The Candies, concerning fruits. Each racer was given a bag of six Fuji apples and told to finish each of the apples to the core when they have reached the finish line. This man choked on his fourth one during a parallel drift and crashed his car into the rail."  
  
"Oh damn."  
  
"Here is another victim." Ryousuke clicked to a page with a picture of a man on the ground, beside his destroyed car, almost lifeless. "This is the incident of the pastry race, both rivals were given a box of several French pastries and were told to finish them before they reached the finish line. This man was barely halfway through the first round when the ingested pastries inside his stomach churned with his turbulent adrenaline, causing him to vomit fiercely. As you know, your adrenaline pumps within your limit of blood pressure and digestion system, so before he was vomiting, he had already lost control of the steering wheel." Ryousuke took a quick glance at Keisuke, who had terror written all over his face.   
  
"Brother, I---"   
  
"Oh, and have you heard about the accident with the fast food race? Let me show---"  
  
"Oh no no no...that's enough, bro." Keisuke had his head resting on the desk, still in awe.  
  
"Keisuke, I have nothing to say but---" started Ryousuke.  
  
"Wait a minute! What about their first battle with The Emperors?! That Kyouichi Sudou didn't have to eat crap!" cried Keisuke, getting up.  
  
"That was their introduction. Everything applies to the second battle." said Ryousuke, still calm. Keisuke was pacing around in beside him. "As I was saying, Keisuke, your results will partly be based on their menu..."  
  
"Fuck that! We are meeting with them right now!" Keisuke bellowed and ran to get his car keys.  
  
---------------  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


End file.
